The Heroic Qualities of Odysseus (The Odyssey) and Everett (O Brother, Where Art Thou)

A character named Ulysses Everett McGill from the story O Brother Where Art Thou is a leader of a chain gang in rural Mississippi. Everett connects with a character named Odysseus from the story The Odyssey because they share many similar attributes. Odysseus demonstrates god like qualities and he is shown to be a brave man. In the stories, the Odyssey and O Brother Where Art Thou through many trials and tribulations both characters Odysseus and Everett share similar characteristics such as they are both loving, perfect, and determined.

Odysseus is an epic hero, he is a natural leader and at some points in the book smarter than everyone else. After stabbing the cyclopes in the eye and the cyclopes moving the boulder Odysseus had to think of a way to get his men out safely and this quote shows his intelligence and leadership skills "I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the cyclops's bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely,

Constantly throughout the book, Odysseus shows great courage in any and every situation he is put in. We see this glimpse of courage when he fights the suitors, or when he saves his whole crew from the Cyclops. In book 9 as Odysseus and his crew are journeying through the cave of a Cyclops, Odysseus decides to make a very bold decision and blinds the Cyclops. “Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight ingo the monsters eye they rammed it hard.” (page 223, line 427-428) In this scene Odysseus drives a stake into his eye, in result blinding him. This was a very courageous decision because of the fact that he and his men are up against a Cyclops. At the same time, Cyclops’s are very strong and big, and Odysseus could have easily been killed . It turns out that the Cyclops is a offspring of Poseidon which put him and his crew into a lot of trouble and danger later in their journey, and if Odysseus knew that or not it was still a brave thing to do in order to save him and his crew at that moment.

Perseverance is a human quality expressed in The Odyssey that the Greeks valued. As Charybdis sucked up the water and everything in it, Odysseus “sprang for the great fig tree…nowhere had [he] to stand, no way of climbing…but [he] clung grimly” (807-813). Odysseus was determined to make it back to his wife and he wouldn’t let even a great force like Charybdis stop him from that. With sheer willpower he hung on to that branch for hours and hours until the monster spit out his raft. When his ship landed in Thrinacia, Odysseus warned his crew that “the cattle here are not for [their] provision, or [they] pay dearly for it” (676-677). Odysseus’ crew were tired and hungry hence they wanted to stop as long as they promised to not slaughter Helios’ cattle for food. Hunger overcame them and Odysseus was the only one who resisted the temptation of a nice meal in order to live one more day. The desire to survive and achieve is a characteristic of an

In The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must make it back to his home in Ithaca after the battle of Troy. Along his journey, he encounters obstacles that require the upmost perseverance and willpower to survive. Some of these obstacles include a giant cyclops who wants to eat him, lotus-eating peoples that drug his crew, violent storms that

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus goes through many trials while trying to return home from the Trojan War. On his voyage home, he must visit the Land of the Dead, evade the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis and when he does arrive home, participate in a tricky reunion with his wife, Penelope. All of these examples show that Odysseus has extreme determination and perseverance. Perseverance is an excellent quality that few possess which can spark achievement.

Contrasting characteristics of the two warriors are their innate dispositions. Odysseus can be characterized as distracted, intellectual, and self-reliant. In almost every situation Odysseus is put into, he is distracted by either a temptress or a task he must complete. His arrogance and self-confidence constantly got in the way. For example, when Odysseus is trying to save his men from Circe, he allows himself to get distracted by the seduction of Circe. Odysseus is definitely a warrior that is not solely focused on his ultimate goal, and although Odysseus may not be the strongest warrior, he certainly surpasses every other warrior of his time in battle strategy. He uses his intellect to the fullness of his ability and

Odysseus's superior strength and athleticism resembles to modern day character of Neo in The Matrix. In

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is quite the legend known to people, whether you are high up in the sky with Zeus, or deep in the ocean with Poseidon, everyone knows Odysseus. In the epic poem, the Odyssey told by the one and only Homer, the brave, the godlike human, Odysseus is finding his way home after the big battle victory against the Trojans. This story is about his travels home and how he got caught up in other business. Let’s just say he stabbed Poseidon’s son, had his crew turned into pigs, faced a six-headed monster and whirlpool, and that is to say the least. He may as well be on America’s most wanted list with all the trouble he was causing. Even though Odysseus is a troublemaker, he has multiple great characteristics of a leader. Odysseus, when it comes to his crew and family, is confident, compassionate, wise, and always knows a way to get out of any problem.

One of Odysseus’s most well known traits is his ability to use his wits to conquer challenges that stand in the way of him and Ithaca. Out of the many examples strewn in the epic, the tale of the Cyclops is the most obvious situation that clearly depicts the main character’s sharpness. In this scene, Odysseus and his men are trapped and must escape the Cyclops, Polyphemus. After they have already struck Polyphemus in the eye, ruining his vision, the men tie themselves to the underbelly of the rams in order to sneak out when the animals are sent to the pasture. In the text it states, “Blinded, and sick with pain from his head wound, the master stoked each ram, then let it pass, but my men riding on the pectoral fleece the giant’s blind hands blundering never found.” This excerpt conveys that Odysseus’s astute plan worked efficiently because none of his crew was noticed by Polyphemus. Odysseus was able to flee the Cyclops, which is respectable considering he used his brains rather than brawn.

Odysseus is the genius tactician whom Everett is modeled after. In the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Everett is extremely similar to Odysseus. Everett is comparably much smarter than those around him, like Odysseus, and believes in his own power. He is also surrounded by people who want to betray him or hurt him, and uses similar methods of not being caught. Also, they both fully believe they are better than and don't need others. Everett and Odysseus also both only want to get back to their wives while they still hold slight concern for their companions. Everett in the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou is made to be like Odysseus because they are both intelligent, narcissistic and have the same goal.

The Odyssey is an epic poem that is taken place after the Trojan War. Odysseus and his men were sailing from Troy to Ithica. The trip lasted 10 years and they had some positives and negatives. So even though they had their ups and downs, throughout the adventure they learned many lessons throughout their journey to Ithica. As Odysseus home from Troy, he changes physically and mentally as he learns the following lessons: cunning overpowers physical strength giving into temptations has negative effects, and loyalty and perseverance are heroic and admirable.

Another trait that Odysseus demonstrates repeatedly throughout the story is his loyalty. In various situations he never gives up on his crew, even when he has reason to. During an episode in the epic, Odysseus travels to the underworld to receive a prophecy. He meets his great friend Elpenor, who has died earlier in Circe’s hall. Because he is unburied and unmourned he asks Odysseus to build a cairn in his honor. Odysseus replies, “Unhappy spirit, / I promise you the barrow and the burial.” (Homer, lines 609-610). Although Odysseus is preoccupied with finding Tiresias, he shows loyalty to his crew mate by spending time with his spirit, and carrying out the spirit’s request. It could have been easy for Odysseus to ignore the spirit of Elpenor, but Odysseus shows a real emotional reply to this meeting. Not only does he show loyalty to his crew but his homeland as well. Although he could have given up during the ten year span Odysseus wandered from home, he persisted even though giving up would have been easier. At one point Odysseus is detained by the enchantress, Circe, but remains determined to reach home:

The Odyssey is a tale of growth and development. Odysseus was, in a sense, defeated by the power of Circe. However, later in the story, as he continued to grow and change, he was able to be strong when faced with Calypso. He did not forget his goal of getting home as he had previously done.

Throughout Odysseus’ journey he is able to persevere against the overwhelming odds he is faced with. The driving force behind Odysseus’ perseverance is his hunger to get home; his crew however does not share this passion and therefore lacks the strength of character to fight on. Odysseus looks back on his life or death struggle as his ship is lost in Poseidon’s storm, " out of the ship my comrades fell and then like sea-fowl were borne by the side of the black ship along the waves; god cut them off from coming home. I myself paced the ship until the surge tore her ribs off the keel, which the waves then carried along dismantled. The mast broke at the keel; but to it clung the backstay, made of oxhide. With this I bound the two together keel and mast and getting a seat on these, I drifted before the deadly